By dividing progressives, Jill Stein works for the election of Donald Trump.

For many progressives, Jill Stein seems like a reasonable choice in 2016. She is not. Stein is a spoiler who would deny Democrats the White House, and bring ruin upon the nation.

There are plenty of good reasons why progressives should not support Stein. For example, Stein has no political experience; Stein joined Donald Trump in praising the bigotry driven Brexit decision, and then tried to cover-up her support of Brexit; and Stein, by representing the Green Party, panders to the anti-science crowd; but most important, Stein cannot win, and a vote for Stein is a vote for Trump.

Many people who once claimed to support Bernie Sanders say they will now support Jill Stein. This is puzzling, since Bernie Sanders has formally endorsed Hillary Clinton, and has rejected Stein’s offer to join her on the Green Party ticket.

For Bernie supporters, it seems pretty simple. Bernie has endorsed Hillary, so if you really are a Bernie supporter, you will vote for Hillary. Otherwise, you were never really a serious Bernie supporter in the first place.

Sanders, like most rational progressives, recognizes that pragmatic concerns make Stein an unacceptable choice. The fact is, Stein cannot win in November. More important, a vote for Stein is in effect a vote for Donald Trump. For rational, pragmatic progressives, Trump is simply unacceptable, and Hillary Clinton is the only reasonable choice in 2016.

In a recently released transcript of a conversation with a Jill Stein supporter, progressive columnist Dan Savage explains why a vote for Stein is a vote for Trump.

A passionate Savage declared, in part:

I have a problem with these fake, attention-seeking, grandstanding Green/Libertarian party candidates who pop up every four years….

If you’re voting for Jill Stein, you’re helping to potentially elect Donald J. Trump president of these United States.

Savage also rejected some of the circular logic of progressives backing third-party candidates. On the one hand, these voters argue that there is no difference between Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, and on the other hand, they suggest that allowing the more conservative of the two to be elected would lead to such extreme conditions that it would spark a “revolution,” Savage said.

This is a common dichotomy found in Stein supporters. Either they claim that there is no difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, or they relish the idea of electing Trump, because it will somehow usher in the promised revolution. Both claims are false. The first is facetious, the second sadistic.

The differences between Trump and Clinton are monumental, and anyone claiming there is no difference between the two candidates is simply uninformed.

As for the sadistic desire of some progressives to see Trump elected in order to usher in some supposed revolution, Savage states:

Disaster will come. And the people who’ll suffer are not going to be the pasty white Green Party supporters — pasty white Jill Stein and her pasty white supporters. The people who’ll suffer are going to be people of color. People of minority faiths. Queer people. Women.

When one contemplates the possibility of a Donald Trump presidency, it is remarkable to note that some so-called progressives are willing to throw their vote away on Stein, and risk the devastating consequences.

Bottom line: Donald Trump has a secret weapon. Her name is Jill Stein.